Free Weekly Biotech Research Newsletter Stay current on the latest Drug Discovery Breakthroughs, R&D Trends & Financing, Stem Cell news, and Preclinical Research with updates sent straight to your Inbox. Join over 45,000 lab research professionals who subscribe to FierceBiotechResearch for FREE!

New therapy uses body's painkiller peptides to cut inflammation aches

German and French researchers are collaborating across the border to develop an approach that uses the body's own painkillers to cut inflammatory pain, a form of pain that rarely responds to conventional therapies.

Pain is a big deal for patients, especially inflammatory pain. It's hard to treat and the most effective drugs have some real downsides. The side effects of opioids include nausea, drowsiness and constipation, and the drugs can be addictive, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can lead to stomach ulcers and bleeding, and may increase cardiovascular risk. What better way then to treat pain by using the body's own painkillers? Especially as blocking pain right where it starts might prevent the development of chronic pain.

The body tries to handle pain itself, by releasing endogenous opioid peptides including enkephalins and endorphins. However, these effects are curtailed by two naturally occurring enzymes, aminopeptidase N (APN) and neutral endopeptidase (NEP).

The aim of researchers at the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Université Paris Descartes is to stop this breakdown in the inflamed tissue. They found that blocking one, the other, or both of the enzymes in animals using inhibitors reduced or stopped the pain.

"Targeting of endogenous opioid peptides directly in injured tissues might be a promising strategy to treat inflammatory pain without serious side effects," states professor Halina Machelska-Stein of Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

THE LIBRARY: WEBINAR

This webinar will discus how the emergence of the ability to share documents and data across thousands of miles instantly has pulled biopharma companies in two opposing directions. Companies want, even need, the interconnectivity that is facilitated by the Internet, but feel equally strongly about controlling who can view and interact with their data. Register today!